OPENING BELL: US stock indexes tick higher in a mixed day for markets

Thursday

Apr 27, 2017 at 9:50 AMApr 27, 2017 at 9:50 AM

Under Armour, PayPal and others joined the lengthening parade of big U.S. companies reporting bigger-than-expected profits for the first three months of the year. A drop in oil prices helped pull energy stocks lower.

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes ticked higher on Thursday, part of a mixed day for markets around the world.

Under Armour, PayPal and others joined the lengthening parade of big U.S. companies reporting bigger-than-expected profits for the first three months of the year. A drop in oil prices helped pull energy stocks lower.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,390, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time. It had climbed to within a whisper of its record closing level of 2,395.96 in recent days, but momentum faded late Wednesday after the White House's highly anticipated unveiling of its tax plan proved to be light on details.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,989. The Nasdaq composite rose 20, or 0.3 percent, to 6,045.

ENERGY SLUMP: Benchmark U.S. crude dropped $1.05, or 2.1 percent, to $48.57 per barrel, while Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, dropped $1.03 to $51.38 per barrel.

That dragged energy stocks in the S&P 500 down by 1 percent, the largest loss among the 11 sectors that make up the index. Noble Energy lost $1.62, or 4.7 percent, to $32.54, and Newfield Exploration lost 77 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $34.88.

EARNINGS SURPRISES: Under Armour surged to the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after reporting results for the first quarter that were better than analysts' expectations. A sharp rise in sales abroad helped push revenue to $1.12 billion from $1.05 billion in last year's first quarter. The company's A-class shares rose $2.20, or 11.2 percent, to $21.92.

Companies across industries have been reporting encouraging results for the start of 2017, and analysts expect this to be the strongest quarter of growth in years.

RING IT UP: PayPal Holdings jumped $3.32, or 7.5 percent, to $47.73 after also reporting stronger revenue and earnings than Wall Street had forecast.

MARKETS ABROAD: European markets were modestly lower after the European Central Bank left its monetary policy unchanged. The French CAC 40 fell 0.4 percent, the German DAX slipped 0.1 percent and the FTSE 100 in London dropped 0.5 percent.